PH and mashing

[kerant]

I want to refine my process and want to start looking at my ph levels. First of all what is the most effecient way of measuring? I would assume you don't use pool strips. I know you should measure PH after mashing because it brings down levels.; but should I have some idea of what my starting water should be at? And what is the best way to treat if high?
Thanks

 

[duboman]

From what I understand you want your strike water to be in the low 5's for Ph level and yes, depending upon the grain bill the mash will lower the Ph to some degree but that is different than the strike water.

The best thing to do is get a water report before you start doing anything so you know what your water is all about. You can use test strips as they are kind of accurate and give a base line to start without getting really crazy and expensive. As for the rest you can go to the brewing science threads and read the various stickies there about brewing water and chemistry, they are quite involved and offer great explanations and steps to go about making your water better.

 

[zeno27]

Brewing specific pH strips are available from a variety of online vendors and probably your LHBS. They are a cheap and easy way to know if you are in the right ballpark. Honestly, getting an analysis from Ward Labs costs only around $20 including shipping the sample and is well worth it. Once you have the analysis, you can use a variety of on-line and off-line tools to calculate pH, sulfate levels, etc etc.

Take a look at this sticky:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-profiles-tools-131443/

I found this Java applet to be useful once I had my info from Ward Labs.
http://nomograph.babbrewers.com/

Your strike water does not need to be in the 5's to be useful. According to Ward Labs, my water is more or less neutral, around 7. However, the calcium and magnesium in the water reacts with phytin in the mash, releasing H+ ions and acidifying it (i.e. lowering the pH). Nevertheless, if you are fly sparging, you may need to treat your sparge water to bring down the pH. For that, I'd direct you to Kaiser's wiki:
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_pH_affects_brewing
Scroll down to the section "Extraction of Tannins."

 

[estricklin]

I suggest a good digital PH meter if you can afford it. I got a Hanna from Amazon for around 80 bucks if I remember right. The strips just aren't that accurate.

If you have hard water you can actually boil it for a while first and that will help. In fact if your using tap water you should boil it first anyway to remove chlorine. 6.5 is about a perfect starting PH for strike water IMHO, but I will say that I usually don't pre treat my strike water. 15 minutes into the mash I take a sample; and I cool it down because my meter doesn't read PH above 140 or so. Most of the good meters have automatic temperature correction. If the PH is too low I will add calcium carbonate and if the PH is too high I will add gypsum. Generally with bottled water I have to add very little, if anything. I would never add more than 2 teaspoons of anything, if it isn't working at that point just leave it be. I've actually never added more than a teaspoon of anything, and usually only add 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon at a time. If your using more roasted malts or acid malt the PH will be lower. My Guiness clones will be about 4.8 or 4.9 after 15 minutes, so not far off what I want. Often times I don't have to do anything. Usually after I treat I stir and wait 15 minutes, then check it again.

This is just what I've come to and seems to work for me, there may be some others here with better ideas.

 

[pjj2ba]

I want to refine my process and want to start looking at my ph levels. First of all what is the most effecient way of measuring? I would assume you don't use pool strips. I know you should measure PH after mashing because it brings down levels.; but should I have some idea of what my starting water should be at? And what is the best way to treat if high?
Thanks

The first thing you need is a water report, or at least some ballpark ideas of what the mineral components of your water is. pH is important, but there are several factors that contribute to this that can be more important - depending on your water. While the pH of your water is important, more important is the alkalinity. This determines how well, you water will resist changes in pH when you start adding things to it (buffering capacity).

If you have soft water, you might not have to do anything to your water (for most styles). The components of the grain bill can overcome the buffering capacity of the water, and the pH will be in ideal range. If you have hard water like me, then even if the pH of my water is not that alkaline, if it has a high buffering capacity then the mash pH will likely be too high without any adjustments. My protocol is to take steps to reduce the buffering capacity of my water prior to mashing in. It is the pH after you mash in that is important. You can adjust post mashing in too. I've actually gotten away from measuring actual mash pH as with experience, I now know that for my water that if I reduce the buffering capacity of the water and then get the pH in the ball park of where I want it, then my mash pH will end up where I want it.